He left Washington in December last year to spend more time with his family.

An emotional statement from his daughter Meghan said: “The days and years to come will not be the same without my dad – but they will be good days, filled with life and love, because of the example he lived for us.”

FILE PHOTO: John McCain listens as he is introduced at a campaign rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina, October 2008 (REUTERS/Brian Snyder)

Mr McCain’s wife Cindy said she was heartbroken by the death of an ‘incredible man’. In a post on Twitter, she said: ‘My heart is broken. I am so lucky to have lived the adventure of loving this incredible man for 38 years. He passed the way he lived, on his own terms, surrounded by the people he loved, in the the place he loved best.’

His family announced that he would lie in state in Phoenix, Arizona, and in Washington DC before a funeral at the Washington National Cathedral and his burial in Annapolis, Maryland.